The present disclosure relates to apparatus useful in the manufacture and repair of a vehicle driveline, and more particularly to installation of a vehicle propeller shaft.
In automotive applications, drive shafts, which are sometimes referred to as drive lines, often utilize propeller or “prop” shafts as torque transmitting components of a vehicle powertrain and are most commonly located under the vehicle between a transmission or other gear box and a differential of a drive axle.
Various equipment useful in the manufacture and repair of vehicle drivelines are often provided in an assembly line environment to facility propeller shaft installation. Typically, the propeller shaft is aligned with the differential and a first set of fasteners tightened. The propeller shaft is then rotated and the remaining fasteners are tightened to secure the propeller shaft. The propeller shaft is typically rotated manually by the operator with both hands to overcome the resistance in the drivetrain or with a custom designed wrench. Oftentimes torque of approximately 40 Nm is required. In either method, the resistance torque of the drivetrain may exceed industry guidelines for ergonomic burden.
The operator is required to rotationally align the propeller shaft with the fastener tightening equipment. Should the rotational alignment not be accurate, the operator walks to the rear differential and again attempts to rotationally align the propeller shaft with the rear differential by manual rotation. The operator then walks back to the fastener tightening equipment to initiate the fastener tightening operation. Furthermore, there is also the potential that after tightening the first set of fasteners, the operator may mistakenly rotate the shaft 90° or 270° instead of 180° which may result in not tightening one of the four fasteners at the propeller shaft/rear differential assembly.
Although effective, this method can be relatively time consuming and ergonomically burdensome.